ScreenTalk » gloss

Judy Callingham – writing our classics

Screen Talker — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 01:19:01 +0000

Judy Callingham has had a long and varied television career as a reporter, presenter, and writer. She first appeared on our screens as a continuity announcer, but then moved on to reporting on the 1960s regional programme Town and Around. Callingham then developed her skills as a television drama writer on shows such as Close to Home, Gloss, Shark in the Park and Shortland Street.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Callingham talks about:

How a friendly rivalry with a co-reporter on Town and Around forced her to confront a fear of heights
Loving being a show runner on Close to Home
How the show led to complaints that it didn’t represent real New Zealanders
Why writing for Gloss made her a better person to live with
That the superb cast of the show made the scripts better
Basing the lead character of her TV play Casualties of Peace on her father
The ‘organic’ process of writing the scripts for The Billy T James Show
Doing a writing experiment while creating scene breakdowns for Shortland Street
Admitting she became a writer because she was appalling at being an actress

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence.

Janice Finn – writing and producing for TV

Screen Talker — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 00:45:17 +0000

Janice Finn is a television writer/producer who has also spent time in front of the camera. Her acting roles have included parts in Close to Home, and The Strip. Finn produced the high camp 80s soap Gloss and 90s drama Marlin Bay, and has written extensively for Shortland Street. She has also produced reality series such as Changing Rooms for Touchdown Productions. Lately Finn has been producing documentaries for Natural History New Zealand.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Finn talks about:

Playing ‘mad Jane’ in the first season of Close to Home
How the show was made as though live, and any mistakes led to an entire re-shoot
How her love of fashion and humour lead to the creation of Gloss
Story-lining the entire series on a huge piece of paper with James Griffin
Being shocked by male media commentators hatred of Gloss
Making reality TV with Julie Christie of Touchdown Productions
How making Changing Rooms was a complete shambles
Having fun playing a loony character on The Strip, despite being very self-conscious

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence

Danielle Cormack – growing up on screen

Screen Talker — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 21:12:26 +0000

Danielle Cormack began acting on stage, but in her mid-teens won a coveted role in the popular 80s soap Gloss. Growing up on screen led her to a one-year stint on Shortland Street, playing sweet and innocent nurse Alison Rayner. Cormack starred in the TV show Topless Women Talk About Their Lives and then went on to the film version of the project. Her pregnancy was incorporated into the film and her performance earned her a best actor award at the 1997 Film and TV Awards. Cormack has appeared in a number of feature films including The Price of Milk, Channelling Baby, and Separation City. She recently appeared in the TV drama The Cult.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Cormack talks about:

Growing into womanhood while appearing on Gloss
Playing the lovable nurse Alison Rayner on Shortland Street
Being the first of the original cast to leave the soap
Appearing in Xena and not always enjoying the intensity of the show’s fans
How becoming pregnant changed Topless Women Talk About Their Lives
Giving birth on screen a week after giving birth in real life
Why Channelling Baby was her favourite filmic experience
Working with a deliciously naughty cast and crazy director on Separation City
Feeling a little isolated on the set of The Cult

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence.

Lisa Chappell – Gloss baby to gun-toting villain

Screen Talker — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 00:20:11 +0000

Lisa Chappell began her screen career playing spoilt rich kid Chelsea Redfern in the 80s glamour soap Gloss. From there she went on to star in the TV dramas Shark in the Park and City Life. In the 90s Chappell moved to Australia and landed the role that made her world famous – Claire in McLeod’s Daughters. Between small screen gigs, Chappell squeezed in some notable film projects, such as the fantastical period romp Desperate Remedies, and the sci-fi drama Jack Brown Genius. In 2009 Chappell returned to NZ television playing gun-toting villain Sophie in the TV2 drama The Cult.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Chappell discusses:

Being the ‘baby’ and eating the props on the hit show Gloss
Not being recognised at an audition for Shark in the Park
Being covered in mud while actor Michael Hurst buried his face in her breasts
Modelling the character of Claire in McLeod’s Daughters after the men in her life
Her murderous character on The Cult, and the trauma of having to shoot a co-star

This video is available on YouTube to embed via a Creative Commons licence.

Credits: Interview, Camera & Editing – Andrew Whiteside

Ilona Rodgers on her acting career

Screen Talker — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:44:48 +0000

Ilona Rodgers has starred in a huge array of theatre, film and TV roles in New Zealand, Australia, and the UK.

As well as appearing in many British and Australian TV shows screened in New Zealand, Rodgers has been a stalwart of locally made programmes such as Close to Home and Hunter’s Gold.

Probably best known for playing Maxine Redfern in Gloss, some of Rodgers’ other screen credits include The Billy T James Show, Marlin Bay and the film Utu.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Rodgers discusses:

Close to Home and the pioneering days of New Zealand television
Frightening tourists on the set of Hunter’s Gold
The joy of being paid to be a well-dressed bitch on Gloss
Taking a gamble on Marlin Bay
The privilege of working with Billy T James
Plunging off a balcony on the set of Utu
Reflections on how “lucky” she has been in her career

This video is available on YouTube to embed via a Creative Commons licence.

Credits: Interview, Camera & Editing – Andrew Whiteside

Peter Elliott – 2009 Qantas Film & TV Award winner

Screen Talker — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 02:12:39 +0000

For more than 20 years, actor Peter Elliott’s career has spanned theatre, film, television and radio. His most notable screen credits include playing Rex on Gloss, Dr David Kearney on Shortland Street, and more recently he was the TV ad face encouraging us to take civil defence seriously.

As well as TV drama, Elliott has fronted and narrated a range of documentary TV series such as Captain’s Log, Explorers, Frontier of Dreams and Secret New Zealand. He also wrote and presented Jungle Rain, a documentary about Agent Orange. Elliott was the first celebrity to appear in Intrepid Journeys. Now 50, Elliott has recently added a new skill to his repertoire – directing theatre.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Elliott discusses:

The experience of being a ‘star’ in Gloss and why he had to pretend to be single
How he got burned out and burned by his four years on Shortland Street
Why he thinks male characters get a rough deal on the soap
How being part of Captain’s Log was a dream come true and a boost to his morale
What a confronting experience it was visiting Kenya in Intrepid Journeys
The great experience of being in Until Proven Innocent and the talent of co-star Cohen Holloway
And how he has finally become comfortable with himself and his transition into being a director

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence.

Credits: Interview, Camera & Editing – Andrew Whiteside

Miranda Harcourt

Screen Talker — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 00:19:05 +0000

Miranda Harcourt got her screen break playing the bitchy Gemma on iconic 80s soap Gloss. Since then the versatile Harcourt has hardly taken a break – directing, teaching, plus acting in prisons, tele-movie Clare, and feature film For Good, among many other titles.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Miranda Harcourt talks about:

the joys of playing Gemma on Gloss, as the character journeyed from being a “really nice girl from Hamilton” to a “bitch from hell”
the over-the-top reactions of some Gloss viewers when they met Harcourt in person
reinvention in London
interviewing prisoners about violent crime and murder for Verbatim. Harcourt performed the play in prisons across New Zealand, as seen in Shirley Horrocks documentary Act of Murder
the genesis of award-winning feature film For Good – directed by Harcourt’s husband Stuart McKenzie – the tale of a woman’s fascination with a teenager’s abduction and murder
playing Phillida Bunkle in tele-movie Clare, based on the disastrous gynaecological study at Auckland National Women’s Hospital
her time as a “terrible” student at New Zealand Drama School, and her return to spend seven years at the school as head of acting
embracing variety in her career, including her recent work as acting coach on Yvonne Mackay’s series Kaitangata Twitch

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence.

Credits: Direction and Interview – Ian Pryor. Camera and Editing – Alex Backhouse

Fashion designer Liz Mitchell talks Gloss

Screen Talker — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 22:54:51 +0000

Before launching her own clothing label, designer Liz Mitchell began her career creating costumes for stage and screen (including Front Lawn classic Walkshort,and cult movie Angel Mine). In this ScreenTalk interview she turns her attention to costume-heavy 80s soap Gloss.

Liz talks about

the “fantastic” experience of working on Gloss over three seasons
designing the “over-the-top” costumes for the series, complete with shoulder pads and loud prints
how the fashion industry pitched in to help
working on forgotten TV show Seekers, starring Jennifer Ward-Lealand and Temuera Morrison
participating in the Benson & Hedges Fashion awards – both behind the scenes, and on the awards podium

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence.